• Statewide
• Boston

Inequities in Graduation Rates

Black and White male students in Massachusetts graduated at slightly higher rates in 2005/6 than the national average, as they had in 2004/5. The rate for White male students declined slightly between the two school years, narrowing the gap, which remains near the national average.  

The Benchmark for graduation rates of Black male students for states enrolling more than 10,000 Black male students is 74% (New Jersey).

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Evidence of Inequities

NAEP Grade 4 Reading results for Massachusetts are higher than those for the nation as a whole for both White, non-Hispanic and Black male students. Although three times as many Black as White male students read below Basic, more than half of Black male students in the state read above the Basic level at Grade 4.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level, Reading, Grade 4, 2007

At Grade 8 although the proportion of the state's Black male students reading at less than the Basic level is unusually low, virtually none reach the Advanced level.  

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level, Reading, Grade 8, 2007

Ten times the share of Massachusetts's Black male students as the state's White, non-Hispanic male tudents score below the Basic level in Grade 4 Mathematics.  

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level, Mathematics, Grade 4, 2007

By Grade 8, over half of Massachusetts's Black male students score above the Basic level in Grade 8 Mathematics and an unusual two percent reach the Advanced level, double the national average.

Percentages Of White and Black Non-Hispanic Male Students At Each Achievement Level, Mathematics, Grade 8, 2007

The Benchmark for Black male students in Grade 8 Reading is Massachusetts, with 62% of Black male students scoring at or above Basic.

The Benchmark for Grade 8 Mathematics is Texas, with 63% of Black male students scoring at or above Basic.

Discipline, Special Education, and Advanced Placement Inequities

In the 2004/5 school year, the number of out-of-school suspensions given to Black male students in Massachusetts was equivalent to thirteen percent of the state's Black, non-Hispanic male student population, as reported to the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education. In the same year, the number of out-of-school suspensions given to White male students in Massachusetts was equivalent to six percent of the state's White, non-Hispanic male enrollment. In proportion to enrollment, the suspension rate for Black male students was twice that of White male students.

Massachusetts reports enrolling very few students in Gifted and/or Talented programs. More than four times as many Black male students as White male students were classified as Mentally Retarded.

More than four times as many White male students were allowed to take Advanced Placement Mathematics classes and nearly four times as many also were allowed to take Advanced Placement Science classes as Black male students, given their respective shares in the student population.